Cleaning Formulation and Method for Internal Combustion Engines

ABSTRACT

Compositions and methods are provided for cleaning and/or rejuvenating internal combustion engine components, including catalysts of the type used in vehicle catalytic converters. The compositions of the invention comprise (a) at least one an aliphatic or cycloaliphatic hydrocarbon solvent; (b) at least two aromatic hydrocarbon solvents; (c) at least one hexanol; (d) at least one additional lower alkyl alcohol having from 1-5 carbon atoms; (e) at least one ketone solvent; and (f) optionally further organic solvents selected from the group consisting of ester solvents and terpene solvents.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to the fields of cleaners for internal combustion engine components; cleaners for catalytic converters; and fuel additives for cleaning engine components.

BACKGROUND

Catalytic converters are now fitted to most internal combustion engine vehicles, in order to reduce the levels of undesirable components in exhaust emissions. In particular, exhaust emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), unburnt fuel hydrocarbon (HC) and nitrogen oxides (NO_(x)) are regulated by law.

A catalytic converter usually comprises a noble metal catalyst, for example of platinum, palladium and/or rhodium, which converts undesirable unburnt hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) to carbon dioxide and water, and nitrogen oxides (NO_(x)) to nitrogen and water. Typically, a catalytic converter consists of a cordierite ceramic monolith extruded to form a honeycomb-like structure of cells having a large surface area. The cell walls are coated with the metal catalyst, such that the engine exhaust gases contact the catalyst surface prior to their emission into the atmosphere. Alternatively, the noble metal catalyst may be dispersed on a high surface area carrier in the form of alumina pellets.

A major problem with catalytic converters is that the catalyst is easily poisoned and/or rendered less effective, for example by a build-up of carbonaceous deposits, or by the accumulation of certain elements such as lead or phosphorus on the surface of the catalyst.

A number of processes have been employed for restoring the activity of the catalyst. Most, however, require the catalyst to be removed from the vehicle. One such method is described in European Patent Application EP 0178792 A, which discloses a method of regenerating a phosphorus-poisoned exhaust catalyst by washing or soaking the catalyst in and acid solution and then heating the wetted catalyst in air.

There have also been attempts to overcome the problem of catalyst poisoning without removing the catalyst from the vehicle. For example, European Patent Application EP 0070619 A describes a method of regenerating a catalyzed particulate filter by occasionally supplying an amount of unburnt fuel to the filter in order to ignite particulates deposited in the filter. PCT Application WO 97/41336 and British Application GB 2328626 describe an apparatus and a method for regenerating a diesel engine NO_(x) catalyst which has been contaminated with SO_(x), by adding a predetermined quantity of a reductant diesel fuel to the exhaust pipe via a special nozzle.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,558 to Gonzalez discloses a petroleum-derived fuel composition of improved efficiency which reduces the tendency of the fuel to create deposits, thus reducing exhaust emissions. There is no suggestion, however, that the disclosed compositions might serve to regenerate a catalyst which has already been poisoned or affected by contaminants.

More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 6,843,813 discloses a rejuvenation or cleaning composition for catalysts without the need to remove the catalyst from the engine in question, the composition made up primarily of isopropyl alcohol, acetone, xylene, paraffin, and further contains at least one of 28 chemical elements. Although not claimed, the specification does disclose as an alternate embodiment the use of the cleaning composition there by adding it into the fuel for the internal combustion engine and running the engine on the fuel-fuel additive mixture to effectuate cleaning of the catalytic converter.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,742 discloses a fuel additive containing mineral oil, a C₁₋₅alcohol, toluene, acetone, and xylene. The additive is disclosed as improving the operation of and reduce pollutants produced by an internal combustion engine being run on the fuel-fuel additive mixture.

Still other chemical cleaner compositions for use with or in internal combustion engine components are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,1412,524 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,638. It should be noted that these and all other patents documents mentioned in this specification are hereby incorporated herein in their entirety except to the extent that they disagree or contradict statements explicitly and/or implicitly made in this specification.

In more recent years there has been a greater emphasis on use of alternative fuels to gasoline and diesel fuel for the internal combustion engines. One effort has been to replace a portion of the gasoline with ethanol, the so-called “gasohol”. The inclusion of ethanol in internal combustion fuel, while reducing the amount of fossil fuel needed to run an internal combustion engine, introduces other concerns, such as, additional water content, reduction in octane rating of the blended fuels, stability of the blended fuel, greater deposit buildup on the various engine components, especially with lower grades of fuel.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a composition useful for cleaning components of internal combustion engines.

It is another object of the invention to provide a composition for cleaning internal combustion engine components without the removal of the component from the engine of which it is a part.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a composition for cleaning internal combustion engine components without removal of the component from the engine of which it is a part and without separation of the engine from its fuel tank.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a composition for cleaning internal combustion engine components by adding the composition to a fuel tank already connected to the engine of which said engine component is a part.

An even further object of the invention is to provide a fuel additive for an internal combustion engine that cleans internal combustion engine components while the engine is running on the fuel-additive mixture.

Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a fuel additive that cleans and/or rejuvenates a catalytic converter that is connected to or forms a part of an internal combustion engine when the engine is being run on a mixture of the fuel additive with the normal fuel for the engine.

An even further object of the invention is to provide a method of cleaning internal combustion engine components that includes preparing a blend of the fuel additive and the normal fuel for the internal combustion engine in question.

Still an even further object of the invention is to provide a method of cleaning internal combustion engine components that includes mixing the fuel additive and normal fuel for the internal combustion engine and running the internal combustion engine on the mixture.

Yet an even further object of the invention is to run an internal combustion engine on a mixture of the normal fuel for the internal combustion engine and the fuel additive.

Still an even additional object of the invention is a method of cleaning internal combustion engine components by running the engine using the cleaning composition.

Yet another object of the invention is a method of cleaning internal combustion engine components by running the engine on a mixture of the fuel additive and a normal fuel for the internal combustion engine.

Still an even additional object of the invention is a method of cleaning a catalytic converter of an internal combustion engine by running the engine, which is connected to or has as a component a catalytic converter, on a mixture of the fuel additive and a normal fuel for the internal combustion engine.

Yet another object of the invention is a method of cleaning a catalytic converter of an internal combustion engine by running the engine, which is connected to or has as a component a catalytic converter, on a mixture of the fuel additive and a normal fuel for the internal combustion engine.

Still other objects of the invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a composition for cleaning internal combustion engine components (inclusive of catalytic converters) and methods of accomplishing the same without the need to remove the component from the engine of which it is a part (or the converter from the engine to which it is attached) in order to accomplish the cleaning. Further, in preferred embodiments, the composition (as a fuel additive) can be added to normal fuel for the engine and the engine run on the normal fuel/fuel additive mixture to effectuate the cleaning. In a most preferred embodiment, the fuel additive can be added directly into the fuel tank of an internal combustion engine and the engine run on the mixture so obtained between the fuel additive and the fuel in the fuel tank.

In general, the composition of the invention is comprised of

-   -   (a) at least one an aliphatic or cycloaliphatic hydrocarbon         solvent;     -   (b) at least two aromatic hydrocarbon solvents;     -   (c) at least one hexanol;     -   (d) at least one additional lower alkyl alcohol having from 1-5         carbon atoms;     -   (e) at least one ketone solvent; and     -   (f) optionally further organic solvents selected from the group         consisting of ester solvents and terpene solvents.         In a preferred formulation, the composition of the invention is         comprised of     -   (a) at least kerosene as the at least one an aliphatic or         cycloaliphatic hydrocarbon solvent;     -   (b) at least xylene and toluene as the at least two aromatic         hydrocarbon solvents;     -   (c) at least an aliphatic hexanol as the at least one hexanol;     -   (d) at least isopropanol as the at least one additional lower         alkyl alcohol having from 1-5 carbon atoms;     -   (e) at least acetone as the at least one ketone solvent; and     -   (f) optionally further organic solvents selected from the group         consisting of ester solvents and terpene solvents.         In a most highly preferred formulation, the composition of the         invention is comprised of     -   (a) kerosene;     -   (b)(1) toluene     -   (b)(2) xylene;     -   (c) an aliphatic hexanol;     -   (d) isopropanol; and     -   (e) acetone.

The above formulation may be mixed as a complete mixture for use as is, or, more preferably, as a fuel additive for addition to the normal fuel for the internal combustion engine of which the component is a part and is to be cleaned. Alternatively, one or more of the composition components can be maintained separately until just prior to use and separately added, as long as, at some point, all of the specified composition components are present together (with or without the normal fuel for the combustion engine) and presented to the internal combustion engine component (or catalytic converter attached to or part of the engine) to be cleaned.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The composition of the invention is comprised of

-   -   (a) at least one of an aliphatic or cycloaliphatic hydrocarbon         solvent, preferably selected from kerosene, liquid paraffin,         hexane, cyclohexane, heptane, cycloheptane, VM&P naphtha, 90         solvent, mineral spirits NE, 140 solvent, and mineral seal oil,         more preferably kerosene or liquid paraffin, most preferably         kerosene;     -   (b) at least two aromatic hydrocarbon solvents, more preferably         selected from the group consisting of aliphatic substituted         aromatic hydrocarbon solvents, more preferably selected from the         group consisting of naphtha, aliphatically substituted benzene,         and aliphatically substituted naphthalene, more preferably         toluene, xylene, Aromatic 100, Aromatic 150, and naphtha, still         more preferably the at least two aromatic hydrocarbon solvents         are at least (b)(1) toluene and (b)(2) xylene, and most         preferably are limited to (b)(1) toluene and (b)(2) xylene to         the exclusion of other aromatic hydrocarbon solvents for         component this component (b);     -   (c) at least one hexanol selected from aliphatic and         cycloaliphatic hexanols, and methyl cyclopentanols, more         preferably a straight chain or branched aliphatic hexanol, still         more preferably selected from the group consisting of n-hexanol,         hexan-2-ol, hexan-3-ol, 2-methyl-pentanol; 3-methyl-pentanol,         4-methyl-pentanol, 2,2-dimethyl butanol, most preferably         n-hexanol;     -   (d) at least one additional lower alkyl alcohol having from 1-5         carbon atoms, more preferably a straight chain or branched chain         alcohol having 1-4 carbon atoms, still more preferably selected         from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, n-propanol,         isopropanol, n-butanol, butan-2-ol, butan-3-ol,         2-methyl-propan-1-ol, 2-methyl-propan-2-ol, pentan-1-ol,         2-methyl-butan-1-ol, 3-methyl-butan-1-ol,         2,2-dimethyl-propan-1-ol, pentan-3-ol, pentan-2-ol,         3-methyl-butan-2-ol, and 2 methyl-butan-2-ol, even more         preferably isopropanol or n-propanol, most preferably         isopropanol;     -   (e) at least one ketone solvent, preferably selected from the         group consisting of C₁₋₅alkyl-C₁₋₅alkyl ketones, diacetone         alcohol, and cyclohexanone; more preferably C₁₋₃alkyl- C₁₋₃alkyl         ketones, more preferably acetone, methyl-ethyl ketone,         methyl-n-propyl ketone, methyl-isopropyl ketone, diethyl ketone,         ethyl-n-propyl ketone, ethyl-isopropyl ketone, di-n-propyl         ketone, di-isopropyl ketone, n-propyl-isopropyl ketone,         diacetone alcohol, and cyclohexanone, most preferably acetone;         and     -   (f) optionally further organic solvents selected from the group         consisting of ester solvents and terpene solvents more         preferably said ester solvents are selected from the group         consisting of C₁₋₅alkyl esters of C₁₋₅alkanoic acids, and C₁₋₅.         alkoxyC₁₋₅alkyl esters of C₁₋₅alkanoic acids; said optional         terpene solvents are preferably selected from the group         consisting of (i) pinene isomers, preferably comprising one or         more of the following four structures:

CAS 7785-70-8, CAS 7785-26-4, CAS 19902-08-0, and CAS 18172-67-3;

-   -   (ii) terpineol, preferably comprising one or more of the         following four structures or mixtures thereof

D-limonene of the formula

-   -   dipentene (aka racemate of D and L limonene); pine oil, and         Tabs-D (a commercial blend of) and mixtures thereof.

In each description of the invention in this specification, disclosure of the invention as “comprising” or “comprised of shall also be construed as a direct recitation of the narrower “consisting essentially of and “consisting of unless specifically stated otherwise or the specific context requires otherwise. Construction of one instance in such a manner shall not require construction of any other instance in such a manner unless specifically so stated.

The components of the formulation of the present invention can be present in the following amounts when considered as a separate formulation from the fuel. Similarly, when these components are added to fuel in two or more separate additions the total additions should be in the same part by volume ratios to each other once all are combined, whether in a distinct additive formulation or when added to fuel. All “parts” mentioned in connection with formulation amounts are “parts by volume” and refer to relative amounts of one component to another rather than components relative to the entire composition. All ranges of parts shall be construed to be disclosure of sub-ranges that are not explicitly set forth as if each specific amount between each stated range endpoint had been explicitly disclosed. In addition, an endpoint of one range for a particular component may be used to replace an endpoint of another range for that component as if such altered range were also explicitly disclosed herein. By way of example, for clarification and not by way of limitation, for component (a) below, the ranges about 5-about 15, about 6- about 12, about 7- about 10, about 7.5- about 9, and about 8 parts are specifically disclosed. Other ranges which the inventor deems to be disclosed include, but are not limited to, 6-15, 7-15, 7.5-15, 8-15, 5-12, 7-12, 7.5-12, 8-12, 5-10, 6-10, 7-10, 8-10, 5-9, 6-9, 7-9, 7.5-9, 8-9, 5-8, 6-8, 7-8, and 7.5-8 (each being optionally modified by the word “about”). Each of the other component ranges set forth below are to be construed analogously as disclosure of the unspecified ranges that can be constructed using a lower limit of one range and an upper limit of another range for that component. Whenever “about” is used, in this specification, it should be construed to also disclose the precise amount in question. Thus, use of the term “about X” would be a disclosure of “X” and support limitations of claims to each of “about X” and “X”. With the above in mind, the amounts of the components of the formulation of the invention are:

-   (a) about 5- about 15 parts, preferably about 6- about 12 parts,     more preferably about 7- about 10 parts, still more preferably about     7.5- about 9 parts, most preferably about 8 parts at least one of an     aliphatic or cycloaliphatic hydrocarbon solvent; -   (b)(1) about 10- about 30 parts, preferably about 10- about 20     parts, more preferably about 11- about 15 parts, still more     preferably about 11.5- about 13 parts, most preferably about 12     parts of the first of the at least two aromatic hydrocarbon     solvents; -   (b)(2) about 30- about 60 parts, preferably about 25-about 55 parts,     more preferably about 30 parts to about 50 parts, still more     preferably about 35 parts-about 45 parts, most preferably about 40     parts of the second of the at least two aromatic hydrocarbon     solvents; -   (c) about 1- about 10 parts, preferably about 1.25-about 7.5 parts,     more preferably about 1.5-about 5 parts, still more preferably about     1.75-about 2.5 parts, most preferably about 2 parts of the at least     one hexanol; -   (d) about 10-about 30 parts preferably about 12.5- about 25 parts,     more preferably about 15- about 20 parts, still more preferably     about 17- about 19 parts, most preferably about 18 parts of at least     one additional lower alkyl alcohol having from 1-5 carbon atoms; -   (e) about 15- about 40 parts, preferably about 17.5-about 30 parts,     more preferably about 18-about 25 parts, most preferably about 20     parts of at least one ketone solvent; and -   (f) optionally up to 10 parts, when present, preferably from about 1     to about 10 parts of the further organic solvents selected from the     group consisting of ester solvents and terpene solvents.

A highly preferred formulation having highly preferred components in highly preferred amounts for each component is

-   (a) about 8 parts kerosene; -   (b)(1) about 12 parts toluene; -   (b)(2) about 40 parts xylene; -   (c) about 2 parts hexanol; -   (d) about 18 isopropanol; -   (e) about 20 parts acetone; and -   (f) no further optional organic solvents.

The above formulations are generally used by adding the completed formulation (or the equivalent thereof by adding different set sets of the formulation separately) to a fuel that is normal to run the engine in question and then to run the engine on the fuel/composition blend. Usually and most advantageously this is accomplished by adding the invention composition to the fuel tank of the engine in question so that a fuel/invention composition blend results, and the engine is run in its normal manner on the blend.

The formulation can be prepared by blending the components in any desired order, or one or more of the components can be omitted from the formulation and supplied separately for blending sometime before or during the cleaning operation, either with or without the concomitant blending with fuel for the internal combustion engine in question. The composition of the invention is generally added to fuel in a ratio of about 0.5 parts by volume up to about 8 parts by volume relative to about 128 parts by volume of fuel; in essence about 0.5 to about 8 fluid ounces of the invention composition per gallon of fuel. Preferably, the invention composition is added in an amount of about 0.75 parts by volume up to about 6 parts by volume, more preferably about 1 part by volume to about 5 parts by volume, most preferably about 4 parts by volume, each relative to about 128 parts by volume of fuel.

Further advantages of the invention composition is that it acts substantially simultaneously to clean multiple internal combustion engine components (including catalytic converters, injectors, valves, oxygen sensors, and other components prone to carbonaceous deposits formed by burnt or partially burnt fuel or aged fuel), increases the octane rating of the fuel to which it is added, thereby improving fuel burning efficiency, and helps to stabilize the fuel, especially those fuels containing ethanol and the concomitant higher water content thereof compared to not alcoholic fuels.

EXAMPLES

The following examples are presented to illustrate and exemplify, but not limit the invention.

Example 1

A cleaner formulation of the invention is blended by combining the following components in the following proportions.

(a) Kerosene about 8 parts by volume; (b)(1) Toluene about 12 parts by volume; (b)(2) Xylene about 40 parts by volume; (c) Hexanol about 2 parts by volume; (d) Isopropanol about18 parts by volume; and (e) Acetone about 20 parts by volume, all relative to each other.

Example 2

A second cleaner formulation of the invention is blended by combining the following components in the following proportions:

(a) Kerosene about 8 parts by volume; (b)(1) Toluene about 12 parts by volume; (b)(2) Xylene about 40 parts by volume; (c) Hexanol about 2 parts by volume; (d) Isopropanol about 18 parts by volume; (e) Acetone about 20 parts by volume, and (f) a terpine about 5 parts by volume; all relative to each other

Example 3

The formulations of Examples 1-2 are added to the gas tanks of cars being run on “Regular” grade gasoline so that on such addition or upon adding further gasoline, the formulations or Examples 1-2 are present in the respective gas tanks in an amount of about 1 part by volume of the Example formulation per 32 parts by volume of the fuel. The cars are run on this mixture and the comparisons between pre-treatment and post- treatment are made concerning emissions are made showing that the present invention results in unexpectedly better performance. 

I claim:
 1. A cleaner formulation comprising: (a) at least one an aliphatic or cycloaliphatic hydrocarbon solvent; (b) at least two aromatic hydrocarbon solvents, (b)(1) and (b)(2); (c) at least one hexanol; (d) at least one additional lower alkyl alcohol having from 1-5 carbon atoms; (e) at least one ketone solvent; and (f) optionally further organic solvents selected from the group consisting of ester solvents, and terpene solvents.
 2. The cleaner formulation of claim 1 wherein said at least one an aliphatic or cycloaliphatic hydrocarbon solvent are selected from kerosene, liquid paraffin, hexane, cyclohexane, heptane, cycloheptane, VM&P naphtha, 90 solvent, mineral spirits NE, 140 solvent, and mineral seal oil; said at least two aromatic hydrocarbon solvents are selected from the group consisting of toluene, xylene, Aromatic 100, Aromatic 150, and naphtha; at least one hexanol selected from aliphatic and cycloaliphatic hexanols, and methyl cyclopentanols; said at least one additional lower alkyl alcohol having from 1-5 carbon atoms are selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol, n-butanol, butan-2-ol, butan-3-ol, 2-methyl-propan-1-ol, 2-methyl-propan-2-ol; pentan-1-ol, 2-methyl-butan-1-ol, 3-methyl-butan-1-ol, 2,2-dimethyl-propan-1-ol, pentan-3-ol, pentan-2-ol, 3-methyl-butan-2-ol, and 2 methyl-butan-2-ol; said at least one ketone solvent are selected from the group consisting of C₁₋₅alkyl-C₁₋₅alkyl ketones, diacetone alcohol, and cyclohexanone; said optional ester solvents are selected from the group consisting of C₁₋₅alkyl esters of C₁₋₅alkanoic acids, and C₁₋₅alkoxyC₁₋₅alkyl esters of C₁₋₅alkanoic acids.
 3. The cleaner formulation of claim 1 comprising: (a) Kerosene about 5-about 15 parts by volume (b)(1) Toluene about 10-about 30 parts by volume (b)(2) Xylene about 30-about 60 parts by volume (c) Hexanol about 1-about 10 parts by volume (d) Isopropanol about 10-about 30 parts by volume (e) Acetone about 15-about 40 parts by volume, all relative to each other


4. The cleaner formulation of claim 3 comprising: (a) Kerosene about 8 parts by volume; (b)(1) Toluene about 12 parts by volume; (b)(2) Xylene about 40 parts by volume; (c) Hexanol about 2 parts by volume; (d) Isopropanol about18 parts by volume; and (e) Acetone about 20 parts by volume, all relative to each other.


5. The cleaner formulation for a catalyst of claim 3 consisting essentially of: (a) Kerosene about 8 parts by volume; (b)(1) Toluene about 12 parts by volume; (b)(2) Xylene about 40 parts by volume; (c) Hexanol about 2 parts by volume; (d) Isopropanol about18 parts by volume; and (e) Acetone about 20 parts by volume, all relative to each other.


6. A method of cleaning an automotive catalytic converter said catalytic converter connected to an exhaust of an internal combustion engine comprising adding a formulation of claim 3 to a fuel used to run said engine.
 7. A cleaning fuel composition for cleaning components of an internal combustion engine comprising an internal combustion engine fuel and the formulation of claim 3, wherein said composition of claim 3 is present in said fuel in an amount of about 0.5 to about 8 parts by volume relative to about 128 parts by volume of said fuel.
 8. The cleaning fuel composition for a catalyst comprising an internal combustion engine fuel and the formulation of claim 3, wherein said composition of claim 3 is present in said fuel in an amount of about 0.5 to about 8 parts by volume relative to about 128 parts by volume of said fuel. 